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Partisanship run amok: The Oscars put political agenda ahead of artistic merit...again
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"Milk"
We're supposed to be in the midst of political change, at least according to the papers. We're at the dawn of reunification, a new land where red states and blue states are abolished and Americans finally become one. But after watching the 81st Annual Academy Awards last night, it seems reconciliation and a time for healing is pretty much one-sided.
There are three points of contention with the results of last night's ceremony and, no, it doesn't have much to do with Sean Penn's acceptance speech or BillMaher's smug soapbox for his documentary Religulous. They used their time to express their opinions, which for the most part is healthy. What I have problem with is the blatant shunning of obviously better films for the betterment of their precious ideology and disrespect towards one of their own.
Not sure what I'm talking about? Here are some examples:
Waltz with Bashir, the heavy favorite from Israel, lost to the Japanese film, Departures, for best foreign language film.
Waltz with Bashir is about a young Israeli solider whose reoccurring nightmares have an odd connection to an Israeli mission in Lebanon in the '80s. Departures focuses on an out-of-work cellist that takes up a job at a funeral parlor. These are two distinctly different films and for good reason.
While Departures is good, it wasn't nominated in prestigious awards shows like the BAFTAs, Critics Choice or the Golden Globes. This is not the case for Waltz with Bashir, which won the best foreign film of the year at the Golden Globes and Critics Choice plus was nominated in the BAFTAs. No disrespect to director Yojiro Takita but Departures' last win was at the Kinema Junpo Awards. (Huh?) It also failed to capture a best picture nomination at its local awards ceremony, the Asian Film Awards.
Picking a relative unknown over a clearly better film is shameful and shows a naked bias. It's odd enough that the movie was nominated but it's downright preposterous that it beat Waltz with Bashir. The reason? Well sir, I believe it has to do with the Academy's clear anti-Israel agenda.
Yeah, that sounds nuts. There must be a better reason than that, right?
Milk wins best original screenplay over In Bruges.
Even ardent liberals will tell you that Milk, though powerful onscreen, was a lightweight on paper. Dustin Lance Black's story, based on the rise of gay activist Harvey Milk, was good. No doubt about it. The movie was great too but here's the catch: it was the least qualified in the category. In Bruges meanwhile, written by playwright Martin McDonagh, was smart, literate and most of all, entertaining. Passing it over for Milk shows that the Academy cares a lot more about social issues than the actual films they are supposed to vote on. Hell, even if any other picture won, it would still ring more true than what transpired last night. I callbullplop.
Silence from the auditorium when Charlton Heston's image was shown during the video montage of those no longer with us.
The other two might be quibbles but this moment was downright shameful.
During the video of images from those within the movie industry that have died the previous year, the crowd clapped politely for each person. Some, who were more famous (i.e. Roy Scheider, Harold Pinter, Ricardo Montalbán, etc.) had an extended clip and drew more applause from the Kodak Theatre. Makes sense. But when Heston's image appeared, complete with clips from notable features like The Ten Commandments and Planet of the Apes, the entire auditorium was silent. You could hear a pin drop or Ben Lyons asking inane questions. Then when the next image appeared, applause magically reappeared.
Heston, who was an outspoken advocate of gun-rights and president of the NRA, was notoriously despised by the Hollywood community. He was also the victim of a hit-and-run journo-assault from Michael Moore in Bowling for Columbine. Needless to say, the man wasn't exactly loved by his colleagues.
The man has earned respect. An icon within the industry, his death was barely noted in the mainstream press. Hey, that's cool, the press is probably a different matter anyway, but to be disrespected in that fashion in a moment where those in the industry are supposed to honor those who are no longer with is was disgusting. H-town, you can disagree with the man all you want, (in fact I do for most issues) but give the man the credit that he has earned and is owed. He was in Soylent Green, people! SOYLENT GREEN! It doesn't get much better than that.
UPDATE: The Atlanta Movies Examiner, Ryan McNally, posted a great response to this article so if you're jonesin' for the counter-view, here it is.
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